B4632
B4632 | ||||||||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||||||||
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From: | Cheltenham (SO952228) | |||||||||
To: | Stratford-upon-Avon (SP205534) | |||||||||
Via: | Winchcombe, Broadway | |||||||||
Distance: | 29.3 miles (47.2 km) | |||||||||
Meets: | A46, A435, B4075, B4078, B4077, A44, B4035, B4081, A3400 | |||||||||
Former Number(s): | A46 | |||||||||
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Highway Authorities | ||||||||||
Traditional Counties | ||||||||||
Route outline (key) | ||||||||||
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The B4632 runs along the former route of the A46 between Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon via Broadway. It was downgraded when the A46 Stratford bypass was built, which later caused that road to take over some of the A422 and A435 to divert via Evesham.
The road starts on the northern edge of Cheltenham town centre on a gyratory that could be part of the A46 or A435 and heads northeast out of town along Prestbury Road. This does not conform to the grid pattern here so has the air of being an older route. After passing a playing field the B4075 comes in from the right and multiplexes with us to a double mini-roundabout. We now run through the centre of Prestbury, now part of the Cheltenham urban area but architecturally a separate village.
At the far end of Prestbury High Street we turn left at a mini-roundabout and head north into open country. To the right is a range of hills and the B4632 climbs gently to bypass Southam then bears right to increase its gradient and go through the village of Cleeve Hill. There's a crossroads at the summit, with our road briefly dual to aid the junction, then the descent takes us into the valley of the River Isbourne and into Winchcombe.
We run through the narrow streets of the town centre and the B4078 turns off at the far end of the High Street. On the edge of open country the road zigzags across the Isbourne then we continue to go under the preserved Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWR), part of the long-gone railway line from Cheltenham to Stratford. We now run parallel to the line and cross the B4077 at a roundabout at Toddington before going over the line a mile further north. Again we keep hills to our right and presently enter Broadway and reach a T-junction.
Originally we met the A44 here and multiplexed along it to the right along the High Street, then regained our number to head north along Leamington Road. However, following the construction of the A44 Broadway bypass we now turn left and avoid the town centre. We go under the railway line by Broadway station which has now been reopened as part of the GWR and reach a roundabout at the western end of the bypass. There's still a multiplex east along the A44 to the next roundabout, at the northern end of Leamington Road, where we turn left and regain our number.
Continuing north-eastwards, we zigzag through Willersley and then reach Weston-sub-Edge, named after the ridge which is still to our right. The B4035 comes in from the left by the pub and then multiplexes with us back into open country. It turns off right when we bear sharply left, after which our road winds to go under a narrow, low bridge under the Cotswold Line. On the far side we reach Mickleton and a mini-roundabout where the B4081 comes in from the right. We bear left and run through the centre of the village. The road briefly moves onto the plain to its left before bearing sharply right to return to the ridge.
We bear left to avoid Meon Hill then move onto the plain anyway as that was the northern end of the ridge. Now crossing flat land we pass Long Marston Airfield. A couple of miles later we bypass the village of Clifford Chambers then cross the River Stour. Journey's end is a short distance further at a roundabout on the A3400 adjacent to Waitrose just to the south of Stratford-upon-Avon. From here the old A46 multiplexed north along what was the A34 into the town centre before leaving town in the direction of Warwick.
B4632 | |||||||
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